On the Trail - Robin des Bois

Seizure of a bear gall bladder
Dharchula, State of Uttarakhand, India
July 24, 2013
The Indian town of Dharchula is on the border with
Nepal. The person arrested is of Nepalese nationality
and lives in the district of Humla (North- West of
Nepal), bordering Tibet. The gall bladder probably
came from a bear in India and was destined for the
Chinese market. In India live the brown bear (Ursus
arctos, Appendix II in India) and the Himalayan
black bear (Ursus thibetanus, Appendix I).
Seizure of 169 brown bear paws (Ursus arctos,
Appendix I or II) and 31 Asian black bear paws
(Ursus thibetanus, Appendix I)
Heilongjiang Province, China
July 2013
Customs had been informed of the arrival in early
June of an illegal delivery of bear paws in the city of
Tongjiang, at the Russian-Chinese border. The cargo
was supposed to be subsequently transported
to the provincial capital, Harbin, on July 11th. Customs
officers have arrested 3 suspects in Tongjiang,
one in Harbin and a fifth one in the Raohe County.
On the Trail Bulletin # 1 already recounted seizure
of 213 bear paws on May 22 nd . They came from Russia
same as this new batch of 169 paws.
Seizure of 3 live sloth bear cubs (Melursus ursinus,
Appendix I)
District of Giridih, State of Jharkhand, India
19 th September 2013
The little sloth bears were kidnapped in India in a
protected area. They were then taken to Nepal to
be bred and tamed and finally resold in India to be
exploited by bear-leaders. Dead and chopped up,
sloth bears are used in the preparation of traditional
medicinal potions and in obscure rituals.
When the poachers and the bears were surrounded
by the police force, a display of support from the
villagers got out of hand and the police vehicles
just escaped being torched. The eventful rescue of
the 3 bears was supported by the NGO Wildlife SOS.
Rhinoceros
The white rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum and
black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis ranging in Africa
are listed in Appendix I, except for the white
rhinoceros populations of Swaziland and South
Africa which are listed in Appendix II for trade of
live animals and hunting trophies.
The 3 Asian rhinoceros species are in Appendix I:
Rhinoceros unicornis, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis,
Rhinoceros sondaicus.
© Bruno Congar, Robin des Bois
September 4, poachers at dawn
arrived in a boat …
Poaching of a rhinoceros
Kukurakata Forest Reserve, Assam, India
1 July 2013
The bullet riddled and de-horned carcass was
found by a patrol in the Kukurakata forest reserve
to the west of Kaziranga National Park. The rhinoceroses
are moving into the hilled forests away from
the park to avoid monsoon flooding. Poachers
know that.
FAMILY AFFAIRS
Conviction with 5 to 15 year prison sentence
and from US$ 520 to US$ 1,035 for rhinoceros
poaching and horn contraband
District of Chitwan, Nepal
3 July 2013
A man, his 2 wives, his sister and his aunt were
condemned for the poaching of 9 rhinos and
contraband between 2006 and 2010. The head of
the family denied the facts and presented himself
as a simple transporter, employed by a famous
smuggler: Raj Kumar Chepang, who fled abroad
with false papers. Chitwan National Park with an
area of 93,200 hectares has been inscribed on the
list of UNESCO world heritage sites since 1984. It
shelters one of the last populations of the one-horned
Indian rhinoceros.
3 suspected rhino poachers arrested
Hoedspruit, Limpopo district, South Africa
July 7 th 2013
The 3 suspects, a South African man and 2 yet to
be identified Mozambicans, were on their way to
the rhinos sanctuaries in Phalaborwa. They carried
several guns and could be charged for illegal possession
of firearms and ammunition and conspiracy
to commit rhino poaching crime. The National
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
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